Background Rhomboid strain, an increasingly common injury due to chronic digital display use, often goes underdiagnosed or mismanaged in adolescent patients. Enhancing physician knowledge and confidence in diagnosing and treating rhomboid strain can improve patient quality of life. This study aims to measure the impact of an educational lecture on physicians' understanding and confidence in managing rhomboid strain in an adolescent health setting.

Methods A cohort of 11 physicians at a student health clinic on a college campus was surveyed before and after attending a targeted educational lecture on rhomboid strain. This was accompanied by the addition of a patient educational handout in the electronic medical record. The lecture covered the etiology, diagnosis, treatment options, and natural history of rhomboid strain. The pre-lecture survey assessed baseline knowledge and confidence levels, while the post-lecture survey evaluated changes in these levels. Both surveys utilized a 5-item Likert scale. For statistical analysis, scores of 4 and 5 were assigned a value of 1, while scores less than 4 were assigned a value of 0. Fisher’s Exact Test was performed in R Studio (C) Version 2024.04.1.

Results Preliminary results indicated that baseline knowledge about rhomboid strain was variable, with a significant proportion of physicians reporting low confidence in their ability to provide patients information and teach home exercises for therapeutic benefit. Following the educational lecture, there was a marked improvement in confidence scores for diagnosis (55% vs 100%, p = 0.04), accessing patient educational materials (36% vs 100%, p = 0.01), and teaching home exercises (45% vs 100%, p = 0.01).

Conclusion This study shows the value of education in enhancing physicians' knowledge and confidence in diagnosing and managing rhomboid strain in adolescent patients. These findings suggest that targeted educational interventions can effectively address gaps in physician training and improve patient care outcomes for new and evolving chief complaints. Further research is warranted to assess the long-term impact of such educational programs on clinical practice and patient health.